I can't say I see how Shelton is getting shortchanged in his booking. He sweeps Hunter in his first weeks on RAW. He beats Jericho. He beats Christian. He single-handedly destroyed Snitsky's commodity. And I'm sticking by the assertion that his match with HBK is MOTY caliber. I don't need him to talk on the mic on a regular basis or have a prolonged feud. He's doing everything in the ring we could ask, including changing up his finishers. That keeps him fresh and makes every potential big move the end of the match.

As to the rest of RAW, once Hunter left, it was all gold. It sounds like the stock smark comment, but it's true. I don't quite get how Batista is established as a monster champ when he doesn't wrestle. If Conway and Grenier and others are going to face someone, the champ is right there to remind us (and show new viewers) why the tournament winner will have a big challenge when he gets that far. Speaking of which, since hte finalist will be Kane or Edge, I'm a little disappointed in this booking. He's already beaten both guys. They blew that Kane big-man match on RAW weeks ago.

Simon and Maven are cold leftovers on the mic. Dean's high whine and Maven's insincere heeldom make their already lackluster characters worse. I'd like to formally predict now that Stacy will turn on the heroes because 1) she has a history of managing heels; and 2) all wrestling women are devilish, according to the Gospel of Big Dust (Chapter 3, verse four, mind the Cheeto fingerprints).

Vicera is having fun, but they need to turn this into a wrestling angle. Either tag him with Val or have him chase another wrestler's gal (Edge's next feud?). Vicera chasing Lillian doesn't do anything for us when she has no established personality. But taking the nachos and using them in the dialogue? Funny.

Davari looks to be working the Ric Steiner/Kevin Sullivan feud, and that's fine with me. Davari managed a swank walls escape before taking the closest thing to the true Liontamer we've seen in ages. The Lovely Mrs. Tracker had a moment of discomfort when Hassan choked Shelton with the headwrap. She thought it smacked of lynching, but I suggested to her Hassan would do the same thing to any other wrestler. Shelton's color had nothing to do with it. Yes, I flinch when he does the throat-slash to a wrestler, but her interpretation, while somewhat logical, doesn't affect me.

And HBK currently is the man to beat week in and week out. I'm not his biggest fan, but you have to respect his effort. He's busting his ass out there.

Viscera's entrance music that he is using now is absolutely awful...and it doesn't even come close to fitting his look.

Absolutely cannot wait till they pair Edge and Lita up together. The heat they will get will be off the charts. Poor Matt will be popping anti-acids in front of his tv as he's screaming "I DON'T F*CKING BELIEVE THIS !!!"

I don't know which of these moments was the funniest:

#1. Maria calling Shawn Michaels "Edge".

#2. The double take and total look of surprise on Shawn's face when he realized that Maria had just called him Edge.

#3. The totally innocent and clueless look on Maria's face when Shawn (with a total stunned look on his face) asked her if she had really just called him Edge. The look on her face clearly said: "Yes I did...why ?"

#4. The spaced-out smile on Maria's face as Shawn was talking to her. She reminded me of Homer Simpson not listening to Shawn at all and just thinking "Mmmmmmmmmm....doooooonuts."

Christian is at the point where he can read off a shopping list and make it funny.

Was it just me, or did that "briefcase" sound like a big plastic tupperware container when it hit Shawn in the head.

ECW PPV commercial was awesome, and seeing that they are gonna build a Bischoff/Heyman feud-storyline around it made me even happier.

Originally posted by geemoneyAbsolutely cannot wait till they pair Edge and Lita up together. The heat they will get will be off the charts. Poor Matt will be popping anti-acids in front of his tv as he's screaming "I DON'T F*CKING BELIEVE THIS!!

Someone help me out with the timeline here: did they start to play up Kane and Lita as the "loving couple" after the Love Triangle became news, or before? For some reason I get the feeling that they're doing it just for the sole purpose of establishing that it will hurt Kane if she sides with Edge, but I didn't know if they had started prior to decided to pair up Lita and Edge (if that IS what they're doing). I mean, I know they started with her using Kane as her "weapon," but the making out, the lovey eyes ... was that more recent, or am I remembering wrong? I'm just trying to figure out if there was an actual explanation for things, or if she just started making out with him one day.

MonteCarl: Edge v. Kane is absolutely the most unappealing finals matchup they could have given us.

You should be ashamed of yourself for making that statement. It's a FEUD booked for THE INTERNET! That's US, man! See, The Internet has so much power that the planned booking was tossed out the window based on the Edge / Lita / Matt situation - when Lita turns on Kane...not only will Kane break Big Show's face / heel / face / heel / face turn record (only trailing Lex at this point), but the HEAT generated by the people who read the Net will huge! "YOU SCREWED MATT!"...and Lita and Edge will bask in the hatred (glory) of the smart fan. This stuff writes itself, really.

Nothing unappealing about that - except RAW is in Omaha, NE. Well, they have had a few weeks to lemming the chant, so even if they *don't* know what it means, the point will be made. Hey! It's even spelled out this week!

A loud "You screwed Matt" chant broke out, aimed at Lita at the beginning of the program. For those who don't know the story, that's a reference to Lita and Matt Hardy breaking up in real life after Hardy discovered she had been getting involved in a relationship with Adam Copeland (Edge) while he was at home rehabbing his injury early this year. Hardy has since been released from his WWE contract.

- Keller

C'mon Omaha! Make us proud! THE SCAR WILL BECOME A SYMBOL. IWC! IWC! IWC!

Match of the Year. Unless there is no turn by Lita, of course. Then it'll suck

I finally figured out who the Maria Bimbo is: The love child of Lee (The Hawk, The Animal) Marshall and some call girl.If they were going to put Kane into the Finals, why not have him finally go over Trip in Round 1 and then over Benoit in Round 2? That way, Kane really appears to have main eventer written all over him before getting screwed in the Lita turn. Of course, then Edge gets stuck in a 6 month feud that never ends with Kane and forgets his other title match with Batista, but, Kane does need a pointless feud.

Yeah, but the whole rest of the tourney was pretty much a foregone conclusion as soon as they had Kane and Litaís ďLoveyĒ moment. Lita looked like she was back to being scared of Kane last night, after the last few weeks of them working together. As soon as they had that, it seemed pretty clear that theyíd be doing a Kane/Edge final, with Lita costing Kane the win.

Originally posted by Kevin TripodPoor Matt will be popping anti-acids in front of his tv as he's screaming "I DON'T F*CKING BELIEVE THIS !!!"

Um, one would kind of expect him to know beforehand. It's not like he now has zero contact with anyone in the company. It is, in fact, likely that would someone would call him on a cellular telephone and he'd be like, "Oh," if not wondering how long it'll take them to ask him to come back to complete the turning of it into an angle.

Originally posted by Big KevI don't know which of these moments was the funniest

Haha, clearly.

Originally posted by Hokie Reesedid they start to play up Kane and Lita as the "loving couple" after the Love Triangle became news, or before?

Not until maybe a week after Wrestlemania, when they kissed disgustingly for the first time. Prior to that Lita always reacted like "Erm, thanks for the save Kane, erm ..." Then they added the disturbing kissing, either to make it seem like there was a reason for her getting chanted at or just for the sake of being sickening. Finally, last night's segment seems like it's supposed to imply that she's been playing ball to keep Kane on her side, but isn't exactly head over heels for him.

But remember that the entire history of this angle is an embarrassingly jarbled mess and trying to make it make sense from one month to the next is a waste of time.

A great RAW as we can all mostly agree, it really reached that balance that it doesnt always have. Hopefully it can stay that way.

-These Flair-Christian dialogues are truly instant classics, I promise we'll look back on them as a highlight of this era. Christian is awesome by himself, but his interactions with Flair have thus far been ...magical!- Like my favorite part from yesterday when Christian mockingly Woos in Flair's face, only to have the Naitch WOOO the "right way" into Christian's face. And then Christian tries to save himself from embarassment by saying, "Oh.. thats how that goes? ok..." PRICELESS

Captain Courageous, The Edge and Nachos is all I have to mention for how great this show was.

Shelton is still the man, though I wish he would have had more moves in that match- he won it with only two and one of them wasnt hit properly (flying bulldog)

Triple H not taking up as much time as he usually does freed up a lot of it for some memorable moments.

Originally posted by Matt TrackerAnd HBK currently is the man to beat week in and week out. I'm not his biggest fan, but you have to respect his effort. He's busting his ass out there.

He has been great the last two weeks but I still have to say Benoit is still the MVP of the WWE. Since Mania he has been stellar every week making his any and all of his opponents look good and while selling believably. HBK is a close second though.

Originally posted by ScreamingHeadGuyMy question (since I didn't catch any of it) is how are they handling the Christian!/Flair interaction? Is it a heel/heel thing, or does it seem like someone's turning, or is it just two charismatic workers trading barbs?

Flair is effectively the face. He gets cheered anytime he comes out without HHH.

Add me to the list of wieners looking forward 2 weeks from now to see bad acting 101, and to hear JR ask the question "Why Lita Why? and call her a Jezebel. Heck, if it gives Kane something good to do, all the better. He's stepped it up a couple of notches with his facial expression since he lost the mask.

I hope Jericho doesn't have to put both Hassan and Daivari over as his swan song.

HHH leaving for a while might be his way to avoid "the draft" if he is in inactive status or something along those lines. Batista was better on the mic tonight, still nothing special, but he seemed much more comfortable on the live mic.

Originally posted by ScreamingHeadGuyMy question (since I didn't catch any of it) is how are they handling the Christian!/Flair interaction? Is it a heel/heel thing, or does it seem like someone's turning, or is it just two charismatic workers trading barbs?

Flair is effectively the face. He gets cheered anytime he comes out without HHH.

Except that Christian seems to be doing more of the face mannerisms. Plus, Flair is still keeping himself squarely on the side of HHH.

Itís ambiguous. They havenít done a clear-cut face turn for Christian. Itís probably closest to the Angle/Benoit title match at the 2003 Royal Rumble, where both men were still heels who just happened to hate each other.

This RAW was more miss than hit for me this week. A far cry from last week's show. What was good was only okay, and what was bad was really really effin' bad. Conway gets a lot of love, and he is slightly above average but hardly anything to do backflips over. La Resistance has yet to entertain me even one time in a match.

The thought of Triple H leaving is nothing short of thrilling. Not to be trite, (and I'll admit now to not knowing what trite means and just guessin' it fits there) but this guy has got to go. A couple months off would freshen him up a bit, and why not give him a couple blood feuds to keep him relevant but away from that title.

Originally posted by darkmatcherThe way he handled Maria's mistake was amazing, and reminds me of how underrated he is on the stick.

Moons of Thundara! It was a clever how he dealt with it, but if that was "amazing" to you, you must go into sensory overload using the toaster. Shawn's best work on the mic was in mid-to-late '97 when he was less tame and working the jackass thing to the hilt. I shudder when he does those "I want to thank each and every one of you" promos, usually after a PPV. Still, he can get his point across better than most. Wade Keller sucks, in related news. He says re: Shawn on Shelton: "He also threw a compliment toward Benjamin, saying he's one of the best young talents he's seen in years." Uh, no. He said he was the best young talent he's come across in years. There's a world of difference.

If I were Edge, and lately I've been wishing I was, I'd be real worried about having that match with Shawn when the one with Shelton, which was about 367% better, is still so fresh in the minds. It was okay, but never ranged beyond that.

That Stacy/Todd/Maven/Simon segment was horrifically bad. I couldn't sit through it, and I rarely have to say that. Stacy's a bit of a dogface these days, was that gradual or was I just never paying attention?

Flair over Tomko, since he cheated, was fine. Christian being afraid of someone old enough to be his ancestor? Not fine. Flair mentioning his world title wins on a weekly basis? Getting annoying. It should make him look cocky, but it only makes him seem insecure. If this is "pushing Christian", what were his intercontinental title reigns? If anything this is a step backwards.

Originally posted by ScreamingHeadGuyMy question (since I didn't catch any of it) is how are they handling the Christian!/Flair interaction? Is it a heel/heel thing, or does it seem like someone's turning, or is it just two charismatic workers trading barbs?

Flair is effectively the face. He gets cheered anytime he comes out without HHH.

Except that Christian seems to be doing more of the face mannerisms. Plus, Flair is still keeping himself squarely on the side of HHH.

Itís ambiguous. They havenít done a clear-cut face turn for Christian. Itís probably closest to the Angle/Benoit title match at the 2003 Royal Rumble, where both men were still heels who just happened to hate each other.

Uh...Benoit was a face going into the 2003 Rumble. He had spent the entire last month or so facing Team Angle, Big Show and other Angle-related heels.

Flair seems like the face right now, based on the Christian/Flair segments alone. When one considers the HHH Factor, then the Nature Boy is a heel...sort of. It's shades of gray booking.

"Flair is effectively the face. He gets cheered anytime he comes out without HHH."

Really they're both playing heels and the crowd adores them both because they're so entertaining. But if you want to get down to specific BRASS TACKS, Flair was booked as a babyface on Monday.

"Itís probably closest to the Angle/Benoit title match at the 2003 Royal Rumble, where both men were still heels who just happened to hate each other."

Well, Benoit was a full blown babyface by the Rumble, but the Unforgiven 2002 match was heel vs. heel. And similarly it was two heels who kind of babyfaced themselves by being awesome, though by the end of the year Angle went heavy heel and Benoit went clear cut face.

Originally posted by JustinShapiro"Itís probably closest to the Angle/Benoit title match at the 2003 Royal Rumble, where both men were still heels who just happened to hate each other."

Well, Benoit was a full blown babyface by the Rumble, but the Unforgiven 2002 match was heel vs. heel. And similarly it was two heels who kind of babyfaced themselves by being awesome, though by the end of the year Angle went heavy heel and Benoit went clear cut face.

Ah, crap. I knew they had faced off as heel vs. heel, but got my timetable mixed up as to the when.

Originally posted by Hogan's My Dad Stacy's a bit of a dogface these days, was that gradual or was I just never paying attention?

Whaaaaaaat ???

Don't worry, HMD is just trolling on us again. Like when he insulted one of the few female posters on here earlier in his post. Really, that toaster bit was out of line, imo.

Anyways, I'm very worried about Shelton Benjamin. He does some of the most amazing moves I've seen, and has a MOTY candidate with HBK last week. Then, he saves Y2J from Hassan and Daivari early on in the night.

When he is announced as the guy facing Rob Conway later in this episode of Raw, the crowd just sits on their hands again. Everybody in the WWE is trying to get the fans to care about the guy. Even the fickle IWC is on the bandwagon, but most of the marks could care less.

I for one don't know what can be done after all this to get Shelton over. Perhaps a very personal feud (with a HEEL) will help as others have suggested. Other than Shelton getting one hundred times better in the charisma category, I don't see this working, however great Shelton is in the ring.